Omega Speedmaster 50th Anniversary 'Snoopy' 310.32.42.50.02.001

Fourteen seconds. That's how long Jack Swigert had to time a rocket burn on 17 April 1970, with three men drifting helpless between Earth and Moon, oxygen leaking, electrical systems failing, navigation instruments dead. Too short and they'd miss Earth's atmosphere entirely, floating away until their air ran out. Too long and they'd burn up on re-entry. His Omega Speedmaster counted down every tenth of a second. The burn ended exactly fourteen seconds later. Perfect. Three astronauts came home alive.

Seven months after Apollo 13 splashed down, NASA presented Omega with the Silver Snoopy Award—a sterling silver pin flown in space, given to fewer than one percent of contractors. Astronaut Thomas Stafford handed it over himself. The highest honour NASA astronauts can bestow. This watch commemorates fifty years since that moment.

Why Snoopy? In 1968, NASA needed a mascot for its safety programme—someone who could represent total mission success whilst keeping things light in serious situations. Charles Schulz offered his beagle, free of charge. Astronauts loved him. Before Apollo 10's lunar orbit mission, Commander Stafford patted Snoopy's nose for luck. They nicknamed their lunar module 'Snoopy' because it would 'snoop' the Moon's surface for Apollo 11. The character became synonymous with spaceflight safety. When Omega's chronograph helped save Apollo 13, astronauts gave the brand Snoopy's image on a pin. The ultimate recognition.

This isn't Omega's first Snoopy watch—they released one in 2003 (5,441 pieces), another in 2015 (1,970 pieces, now trading for five figures at auction). But this 50th anniversary edition, launched in 2020 and still in regular production, is the most sophisticated. The 42mm stainless steel case houses Omega's Co-Axial Master Chronometer Calibre 3861—the most advanced movement ever fitted to a Speedmaster Professional. Manual-winding with 26 jewels, running at 21,600 vibrations per hour, 50-hour power reserve. Co-Axial escapement, silicon balance spring, anti-magnetic to 15,000 gauss. Master Chronometer certified by METAS, accurate to 0/+5 seconds daily. Hacking seconds for precise time-setting. This movement represents decades of incremental improvement over the Lemania 1873 that saved Apollo 13.

The dial is solid silver—engraved with Ag925 to prove it—with blue PVD hour markers and hands. At 9 o'clock, Snoopy appears embossed in silver on the blue running seconds subdial, wearing his spacesuit exactly as depicted on the original NASA award pin. The bezel is blue ceramic with a white enamel tachymeter scale—virtually scratchproof, permanent colour. Blue nylon fabric strap with contrasting stitching, rubber gusset around adjustment holes for durability, calfskin lining. Embossed on the underside: the trajectory of Apollo 13, showing their slingshot orbit around the Moon and path back to Earth. A secret detail only the wearer sees.

Then there's the caseback. Omega used micro-structured metallisation on sapphire crystal to recreate the far side of the Moon in photo-realistic detail. Earth sits in the background on a disc that rotates once per minute, synchronised with the small seconds hand. When you engage the chronograph function, Snoopy appears flying his Command and Service Module on a 'magic hand' that takes him around the dark side of the Moon—exactly the trajectory Apollo 13 followed. Above it all: 'Eyes On The Stars,' the motto that's appeared on every Snoopy Speedmaster. Omega's NAIAD LOCK system keeps all engravings perfectly upright. It's engineering theatre, functional animation, a love letter to spaceflight history.

Fifty metres water resistance. 42mm case, 14.5mm thick, 47.5mm lug-to-lug. Weighs approximately 90 grams. Comes in a special presentation box designed to look like Snoopy's Command Module case, complete with Velcro closures, carry handle, and the official Silver Snoopy Award patch. Inside: the watch, a jeweller's loupe with blue tachymeter markings, operating instructions, and a book titled 'Eyes On The Stars' telling the Apollo 13 story.

This watch isn't limited, but it's perpetually difficult to obtain—demand vastly exceeds supply. When authorised dealers receive stock, it disappears immediately. Secondary market prices hover well above retail. People want it because it tells a story everyone understands: precision under pressure, human ingenuity, survival against impossible odds. Fourteen seconds that mattered. A cartoon beagle who became a symbol of mission success. A Swiss chronograph that helped bring three men home.

Sometimes watchmaking transcends horology and becomes commemoration. This is one of those times. Wear Snoopy on your wrist and you're wearing fifty years of spaceflight history, a reminder that precision matters, that tools can save lives, that even in the darkest moments—drifting between worlds with failing systems—timing fourteen seconds perfectly can mean the difference between disaster and survival. NASA gave Omega a silver pin. Omega gave the world this watch. Fair trade.